Clinton staffers were so sure she would win they reportedly popped champagne on Election Day

Hillary Clinton's aides were so sure she would win that they reportedly popped champagne on the campaign plane on Election Day.

Hours later, instead of becoming the nation's first female president as polls had predicted, Clinton suffered one of the most stunning political defeats in history, and Donald Trump became the new president-elect.

PHOTOS: Hillary Clinton speaks for the first time after losing the presidency

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Hillary Clinton speaks for the first time after losing the presidency

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Hillary Clinton speaks for the first time after losing the presidency

Hillary Clinton, former 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, arrives with Former U.S. President Bill Clinton to speak at the New Yorker Hotel in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. Donald Trump, a Republican who has never held public office, defeated Clinton after a punishing campaign that exposed searing divides in the American public. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Hillary Clinton, former 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, arrives with Former U.S. President Bill Clinton to speak at the New Yorker Hotel in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. Donald Trump, a Republican who has never held public office, defeated Clinton after a punishing campaign that exposed searing divides in the American public. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Hillary and Bill Clinton arrive to the New Yorker Hotel where she was to address supporters on November 9, 2016 in New York City. The former Democratic Presidential nominee conceded defeat to president-elect Donald Trump earlier in the morning. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: John Podesta, the campaign chairman of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waits for her to concede the presidential election at the New Yorker Hotel on November 9, 2016 in New York City. Republican candidate Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election in the early hours of the morning in a widely unforeseen upset. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (R) is embraced by Hillary Clinton beforeher address to her staff and supporters about the results of the U.S. election at a hotel in New York, November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Former President Bill Clinton applauds as his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in New York, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. Clinton conceded the presidency to Donald Trump in a phone call early Wednesday morning, a stunning end to a campaign that appeared poised right up until Election Day to make her the first woman elected U.S. president. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton makes a concession speech after being defeated by Republican president-elect Donald Trump as former President Bill Clinton(L) and running mate Tim Kaine look on in New York on November 9, 2016. / AFP / JEWEL SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, accompanied by her husband former President Bill Clinton, concedes the presidential election at the New Yorker Hotel on November 9, 2016 in New York City. Republican candidate Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election in the early hours of the morning in a widely unforeseen upset. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Hillary Clinton addresses her staff and supporters about the results of the U.S. election as former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) and her running mate Tim Kaine applaud at a hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Hillary Clinton addresses her staff and supporters about the results of the U.S. election as her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, looks on at a hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

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A mere 11 days before the election, Comey sent a letter notifying Congress that the FBI was looking into new emails related to Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state. The agency discovered the emails while investigating former congressman Anthony Weiner. But the Sunday before Election Day, Comey announced the emails didn't warrant additional investigation, and again cleared Clinton.

The Clinton campaign and prominent Democrats slammed Comey for his timing, accusing the Republican FBI director of trying to sway the election.

And the campaign doubled down on that accusation in an email sent to senior staff on Thursday. Navin Nayak, the director of opinion research on the campaign, wrote that Comey's bombshells depressed Clinton's support among college-educated white voters in the suburbs and galvanized Trump's base.

"There is no question that a week from Election Day, Sec. Clinton was poised for a historic win," Nayak wrote. "In the end, late breaking developments in the race proved one hurdle too many for us to overcome."

Nayak also acknowledged anger at global institutions, a desire for change after a two-term Democratic president, votes for third-party candidates, and the "unprecedented task" of electing the nation's first female president as hurdles to the campaign's success.